Manhattan Luxury Market Report

The City recorded 185 Manhattan residential sales at $5 million and above between July 1 and August 31, 2026, at a median price of $7.00 million. Volume is steady rather than rising: below the 195 sales over the same two months in 2025, and clearly above the 152 recorded in 2024, which was the weakest summer in six years. The median has come down from $7.85 million last summer. Two thirds of the market at this level is condominium, and the Upper East Side accounted for more sales than any other submarket. September is not yet in the public record, so these are July and August figures, compared against July and August in every prior year.

What I am seeing that the records do not show

Rates moved hard during this quarter. My buyers were quoted around 6.75% a month ago and are being quoted about 7.5% now, with banks pricing in a further increase. That is a significant change for anyone financing a purchase at these levels, and it is already changing how offers are structured. Historically, when we approach 8%, activity stops.

Recorded sales lag that by months. The closings counted below reflect deals negotiated in the spring and early summer, before the move. That gap between what closed and what is happening now is the single most important thing to understand about any market report, including this one.

The quarter so far, in figures

Where the sales happened

The five submarkets below are the ones I work in. The Upper East Side leads on volume and carries the highest median of the group, and it is the only one where townhouses are a real part of the picture rather than an occasional sale.

Six summers, compared on the same basis

Because September is not yet recorded, the only honest comparison is July and August against July and August. On that basis the pattern is a decline through 2024, a recovery in 2025, and a quarter that has held most of that recovery.

How these numbers were produced

Every figure comes from the City of New York Department of Finance record of residential sales, which is the public record of what actually changed hands and at what price. Co-ops, condominiums and one to three family houses are included; commercial and mixed-use classes are not.

This report covers July 1 to August 31, 2026. The City's file does not yet include September, and deeds for August are still being recorded, so every count here is a floor rather than a final number. Where this report compares to earlier years, it compares July and August only, never a part-quarter against a full one.

Manhattan shows 242 deed records above $5 million for those two months, but 185 distinct transactions. The difference is bulk and sponsor closings, where several apartments are recorded on the same day at the same price. Counting those separately would inflate the quarter, so they are collapsed here.

New development is deliberately excluded from the commentary. Sponsors typically hold closing information for three or four months, and the concessions that actually determine what a buyer paid — closing credits, storage, parking, waived sponsor costs — never appear in a recorded price. Sponsor figures are therefore both late and overstated. I would rather say so than publish them as though they were comparable.

What this means if you are selling

A median of $7.00 million across 185 sales is a functioning market, not a stalled one, but it is a market where the buyer has more room than they had a year ago and where financing costs have moved against them during the quarter. Pricing to the last comparable sale in your building is the most common and most expensive mistake I see at this level, because that sale was negotiated under different rates.

If you are weighing a sale, the relevant question is not what the market did last quarter but what your specific building and line have done, and what is currently available competing with you. That is a conversation worth having before you choose a number.

How many Manhattan apartments sold for $5 million or more in Q3 2026?

The City recorded 185 distinct Manhattan residential sales at $5 million and above between July 1 and August 31, 2026, at a median price of $7.00 million. September is not yet in the public record, and August deeds are still being recorded, so that figure is a floor rather than a final count.

What is the median luxury sale price in Manhattan right now?

The median sale at $5 million and above was $7.00 million for July and August 2026. That is down from $7.85 million over the same two months in 2025, and close to the $6.85 million and $6.90 million medians recorded in 2023 and 2024.

Which Manhattan neighborhood has the most luxury sales?

The Upper East Side, with 47 sales at $5 million and above across July and August 2026 and a median of $7.56 million. That is more than the Villages and the Upper West Side combined, and it is the only submarket where townhouses made up a meaningful share of the volume.

Is the Manhattan luxury market up or down?

Volume is steady rather than rising. The 185 sales recorded for July and August 2026 sit below the 195 recorded in 2025 but well above the 152 recorded in 2024, which was the weakest of the past six summers. The median price has softened from last summer while remaining above the 2023 and 2024 levels.

Are most Manhattan luxury sales co-ops or condos?

Condominiums, by a wide margin. Of the 185 sales at $5 million and above, 123 were condominiums, 37 were co-ops and 25 were townhouses. Co-ops are a smaller share at this level than many buyers expect, which matters because the board approval process applies to that smaller group.

Why does this report stop at August?

The City of New York publishes recorded sales on a rolling basis, and the file available when this report was compiled ends on August 31, 2026. Publishing a September figure now would mean estimating it. The quarter will be completed when the records are filed.

Related: Brooklyn Luxury Market Report, Q3 2026 · All market reports · Notable sales